Highlight of My Life in Israel

Dear Protesters: Let's take all the millions you're receiving to overthrow the Israeli government and put it to better use.

"The biggest challenge of all is keeping Israel as one nation," said President Herzog at the height of his speech to the nation, against the background of the lack of unity in the nation. These beautiful words raise a question: are we really one people? And if so, what is the point of unity that we are challenged to maintain?

The ideological struggle between right and left has literally been going on since the dawn of time. It didn't start yesterday and it won't end tomorrow.

If you ask who is right, no one has a solution that will suit everyone. It's actually right at the merging of all our differences and contrasts where we complete one another. That will be the future solution and our next level of development. It will be our biggest startup ever.

As of this moment, we don't even realize or have a practical understanding of what needs to be done. All that is ahead of us. But there is something the protesters can do right now. Because fanning the flames of hate is the easiest thing to do. It requires no great talent or special training.

In every gathering I saw people of all colors and ages, sitting. talking and laughing, and playing guitar. It was a real culture shock for me being exposed to a new side of Israel that I'd never seen before.

Social Justice Protests in 2011

During the 2011 social justice protests, I visited a tent in a different part of the country every evening - from Be'er Sheva in the South all the way up to Kiryat Shmone up North. It was one of the most exhilarating times of my life. Despite all the moaning about the cost of living and the price of cottage cheese, there was really something beautiful happening.

In every gathering I saw people of all colors and ages, sitting. talking and laughing, and playing guitar. It was a real culture shock for me being exposed to a new side of Israel that I'd never seen before.

And then somehow a lot of things started coming together. You could really see with your own eyes how as soon as people started talking, it started moving mountains. People would sit listening to each other intently on the floor until the wee hours of the night. No one wanted to leave.

My Message for Israeli Protesters

Let's put all our cards on the table for a moment. Let's take all the millions you're receiving to overthrow the Israeli government and put it to better use.

I challenge you to invest it in creating gatherings throughout the country where anyone can come and discuss the issues in an open and civil manner. Use some of it to buy refreshments, chairs and whatever else you need. Then just sit down and talk. Present the problem and discuss what you want to change. And just listen to each other. Take all the summaries from these events and pass them onto your representatives in the government.

Please don't say it's impossible. You have the resources and skills to make it happen. We understand that you want to take initiative. But instead of destroying the country, you can choose to rebuild.

My only concern is maintaining our existence here in Israel. This is what motivates me in everything I do.

Instead of only caring about our personal interests, we're all going to need to learn to care about the collective. Because that's where the key to our better future can be found - not in any individual or leader, not in any political party or ideology - but only by advancing here together in a civil and healthy manner. We can disagree and shout here and there, but at the end of the day we are one nation.